Conceptual Framework Building

Help me build a conceptual framework for understanding [phenomenon]:

THE PHENOMENON:
[What I'm trying to understand]

WHAT I'VE NOTICED:
[Observations, patterns, puzzles]

FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT:
1. What are the key variables/factors?
2. How do they relate to each other?
3. What causes what? (Be careful about causation claims)
4. What's the boundary of this framework?
5. What does it explain well? What poorly?
6. How would we test or validate this framework?

Create a visual representation (described in text) of the framework.

Be honest about how much is observation vs. interpretation vs. speculation.